Marcel van Ackeren
Marcel van Ackeren is currently Henkel Fellow and is a Research Associate at Oxford’s Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics. He is also an external Investigator at Freiburg’s Centre for Integrative Biological Signalling Studies (CIBSS), sits on CIBSS’ Ethics, Safety and Security Committee and is Privatdozent at Cologne University. Since his habilitation, he has held visiting positions at Cambridge, Berne and Milan, was Fellow at the Institute for Advanced Studies (Wissenschaftskolleg) in Greifswald and was Fellow and Researcher at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Bioethics at Münster University. He has taught as acting full Professor at various German Universities and earned his PhD in philosophy at the University of Bochum, after conducting graduate studies and doctoral research at Oxford University (supervised by B. Williams and M. Frede). Marcel has studied social sciences and philosophy at Glasgow University and Duisburg University where he earned his first degree in social sciences and political theory.
Special Issues for Journals
Demandingness in Practice, Special Issue for Moral Philosophy and Politics 6 (2019), guest-editor: M. v. Ackeren / S. Derpmann
Contributors: Marcel van Ackeren, Brian Berkey, Stephanie Collins, Simon Derpmann, Alberto Giubilini, Anna Hartford, Kian MintzWoo, Matthew Kramer and Julien Savulescu
Kant and the Modern Debate on Demandingness, Themed Issue of the Kantian
Review 23 (2018), guest-editor: M.v. Ackeren / M. Sticker
Contributors: Marcel van Ackeren, Roger Crisp, John Skorupski, Martin Sticker and Jens Timmermann
Sacrifice and Moral Philosophy, Special Issue of the International Journal for Philosophy 26 (2018), guest-editors: M. v. Ackeren / A. Archer
Contributors: Marcel van Ackeren, Vanessa Carbonell, Sophie-Grace Chappell, Stephanie Collins, Edwart Harcourt, Jörg Löschke, Joseph Raz, Michael Slote and Lisa Tessmann
Anthology / Editions
Ackeren, M., v. / Chappell, S.-G. (eds.): Ethics beyond the Limits. New Essays on Bernard Williams’ Ethics and the Limits of Philosophy, London / New York: Routledge 2019
Contributors: Simon Blackburn, Adrian Moore, David Cockburn, Anthony Price,
Catherine Wilson, Nick Smyth, Paul Russel, Roger Teichmann, Regina Rini, Sophie-Grace Chappell and Marcel van Ackeren
Ackeren, M., v. (ed.): Philosophy and the Historical Perspective. Proceedings of the British Academy, Oxford: Oxford University Press 2018
Contributors: Brian Leiter, Marcel van Ackeren, Hans-Johann Glock, Thomas Grundmann, John Marenbon, Michael Della Rocca, Robert Pippin, John Skorupski, Christoph Rapp, Dominik Perler, Hanjo Glock, Martin Kusch, Ursula Renz, Lisa Herzog, Christina van Dyke
Articles / Book Chapters
van Ackeren, M., v.: Bernard Williams (On) Doing History of Philosophy. A Case Study on Ethics and Limits of Philosophy, in: S.G. Chappell / M. v. Ackeren (eds.): Ethics beyond the Limits. New Essays on Bernard Williams’ Ethics and the Limits of Philosophy, Routledge: London 2019, 53-71
Ackeren, M., v.: What makes a Moral Obligation demanding?, in: International Journal of Philosophical Studies 26 (2018 ), 315-334
Ackeren, M., v. / Sticker, M.: Moral Rationalism and Demandingness in: Kantian Moral Theory, in: Kantian Review 23 (2018), 407-428
Ackeren, M.,v. / Archer, A.: Self-Sacrifice and Moral Philosophy, in: International Journal of Philosophical Studies 26 (2018), 301-307
Ackeren, M., v. / Sticker, M.: Kant the current Debate on Demandingness, in: Kantian Review Volume 23 (2018), 373-378
Ackeren, M., v. / Sticker, M.: The Demandingness of Beneficence and the Kantian System of Duties, in: Social Theory and Practice 44 (2018), 405-436
Ackeren, M., v.: Philosophy and the Historical Perspective: A New Debate on an Old Topic, in: Ackeren, M. v. (ed.): Philosophy and the Historical Perspective (Proceedings of the British Academy vol. 214), Oxford University Press 2018, 1-17
Ackeren, M., v.: On Interpreting Historical Texts and Contributing to Current Philosophy, in: Ackeren, M. v. (ed.): Philosophy and the Historical Perspective (Proceedings of the British Academy vol. 214), Oxford University Press 2018, 69-87
Monographs
Ackeren, M., v.: Die Philosophie Marc Aurels, vol. 1: Textform – Stilmerkmale –
Selbstdialog [The Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius, vol. 1: Form – Style – Self-dialogue], Boston / Berlin: De Gruyter 2011
Ackeren, M., v.: Die Philosophie Marc Aurels, vol. 2: Themen – Begriffe –
Argumente [The Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius, vol. 2: Topic – Concepts – Arguments], Boston / Berlin: De Gruyter 2011
Ackeren, M., v.: Heraklit [Heraclitus]. (Berner philosophische Studien Bd. 34, hg.
von A. Graeser), Bern et al.: Lang 2005
Ackeren, M., v.: Das Wissen vom Guten. Bedeutung und Kontinuität des Tugendwissens in den Dialogen Platons [Knowing the Good. The meaning and continuity of virtue knowledge in Plato’s dialogues], Amsterdam / Philadelphia: Benjamins 2003
I am currently interested in Ethics, especially demandingness and demandingness objections, and related topics like supererogation, ought-implies-can, moral rationalism and the authority of morality. My current research concerning these topics aims at contributing to contemporary debates and the history of philosophy, especially ancient ethics and Kantian moral theory.
I am further interested in philosophy of philosophy and methodology insofar as the question if and how the historical perspective might contribute to current debates in philosophy is concerned.
